Difficult
The island of Tustna in outer Nordmøre hides some of southern Norway's most dramatic island peaks. The ridge walk over Jørgenvågsalen to Jurtinden (867 m) is locally called "mini Besseggen" - a narrow mountain spine with the open Atlantic on one side and deep fjord arms on the other. On a clear day the views reach from Smøla and Kristiansund in the west to the mainland mountains of Trollheimen inland.
What makes Tustna remarkable is scale versus altitude. Innerbergsalen (908 m) is the highest island peak in southern Norway, and neighbouring Storøra (905 m) is barely three metres shorter. These are serious mountains rising straight from sea level on a coastal island, so the sense of exposure and elevation gain is far greater than the numbers suggest. The collective name for the peaks, Tustnastabbene, includes Knubben, Skarven, Stabben and Litløra in addition to the main three.
For the truly ambitious, the "Seven Peaks Nightmare" challenge strings all seven summits into a single push: roughly 30 km with 3,400 metres of cumulative elevation gain. Most hikers pick one or two peaks instead. The Jørgenvågsalen circuit via Nonshaugvatnet is considered the most beautiful single-day option. The trailhead is in Gullsteinsdalen, reached via a gravel road off RV680 about 2.5 km east of the Coop at Leira.
What makes Tustna remarkable is scale versus altitude. Innerbergsalen (908 m) is the highest island peak in southern Norway, and neighbouring Storøra (905 m) is barely three metres shorter. These are serious mountains rising straight from sea level on a coastal island, so the sense of exposure and elevation gain is far greater than the numbers suggest. The collective name for the peaks, Tustnastabbene, includes Knubben, Skarven, Stabben and Litløra in addition to the main three.
For the truly ambitious, the "Seven Peaks Nightmare" challenge strings all seven summits into a single push: roughly 30 km with 3,400 metres of cumulative elevation gain. Most hikers pick one or two peaks instead. The Jørgenvågsalen circuit via Nonshaugvatnet is considered the most beautiful single-day option. The trailhead is in Gullsteinsdalen, reached via a gravel road off RV680 about 2.5 km east of the Coop at Leira.